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COMMANDEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



WAR PAPER 39. 



Recollections o| ^urnside's ^ast ^eq- 
qessee ^anp^'gl ^f ''^®^- 






Military ©rder of tl7G bo^al l£)9|ion 



United States. 



dOMMAWDEi^Y OF THE mp\m OF Gmy[m\. 



WAR PAPERS. 



39 



l^ecollectioas of Bu-raside's ^asl 'Tennessee 
CLampaiga of 1863. 

PREPARED BY COMPANION 

Brevet Brigadier-General 

BYRON M. CUTCHEON, 

Late U. S. V., 



READ AT THE STATED MEETING OF JANUARY 1, 1902. 



r^O-yiQ' 



.C8 



^;iT 



tfmuiraign af 1863. 



During the months of August and September, 1863, Major- 
General Burnside organized in Kentucky the Army of the 
Ohio, consisting of the Twenty-third Army Corps and two 
divisions of the Ninth Army Corps, commanded respectively 
by Brigadier General Edward Ferrero, of New York, and 
General Rob't B. Potter, of the same State. The writer was 
then attached as Major of the Twentieth Michigan Infantry to 
the second brigade of the first division of the Ninth Army 
Corps, under the command of Colonel Daniel Leasure, of the 
One Hundredth Pennsylvania, but afterward commanded by 
Colonel William Humphrey, of the Second Michigan Volunteer 
Infantry. 

Early in September the troops moved forward from Camp 
Nelson on the Kentucky river and from Crab Orchard, where 
the Ninth Corps had been posted, and on the 20th of September 
our division passed through Cumberland Gap into Tennessee, 
and on the 2 2d arrived at Morristown on the Virginia and 
Tennessee Railroad. It is now well known that the recovery 
of East Tennessee, one of the most loyal sections of the 
country, from the hands of the rebels, was one of the most 
cherished projects of President Lincoln. He had urged that 
it be undertaken early in 1861, but military conditions did 
not then render it possible, and he fretted and worried over 
the delay while other projects were in course of execution, 
and the military authorities left this most essential link in 



the hands of the Confederates, connecting their capital to the 
great food producing region of the South until late in the 
autumn of 1865. We finally took it with very little loss 
when Rosecrans had once seized Chattanooga. 

The battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga were the real 
contest for the control of the valley of East Tennessee and 
of the railroad connection between Richmond and the South- 
west. It was a source of exceeding rejoicing to President 
Lincoln when this was done, and East Tennessee from that day 
remained a solid part of the loyal States. The remaining 
days of September and the early part of October were spent 
by our division in movements up and down the Valley of 
Tennessee, but without important military operations. On 
the loth of October the Ninth Army Corps under the personal 
direction of General Burnside, came in conflict with a division 
of rebels under Gen. J. S. Williams at Blue Springs, a few 
miles south of Greenville. 

The brief action resulted in the complete rout of the rebel 
division and their retreat in the direction of Virginia. 

Col. John W^. Foster, commanding a brigade of cavalry, 
had been sent to get in the rear of this rebel column in the 
expectation that we would be able to practically destroy it; 
but the flanking movement failed, and Gen. Williams and 
a small brigade, mostly home guards, under Brigadier A. E. 
Jackson, who was also known l)y the title of "Mudwall 
Jackson," escaped to the Mountains of North Carolina. 

No further engagement took place between the two sides 
until near the middle of Noveml)er. The morning of the 14th 
of November, 1863, found the two small divisions of the 
Ninth Corps encamped at Lenoir's Station, some 12 miles 
northeast of Louden, on the Tennessee river, and 24 miles 
southwest of Knoxvillc. During the night wc had been routed 



out by the order to stand to arms and prepare to fall back 
upon Knoxville, in consequence of the report that Gen. 
Longstreet with his army, having been detached from Bragg 
at Chattanooga, was about to cross the Tennessee river near 
Louden with the intention and expectation of crushing our 
small force. Gen. Longstreet had under his command three 
divisions of infantry, together with a large corps of cavalry 
under the command of Gen. Jos. Wheeler, since famous in the 
Spanish War. During the morning of the 14th, it was reported 
that Longstreet was already crossing the Tennessee at Hough's 
(or Huff's) Ferry, some 4 or 5 miles below Louden, and that he 
was moving Wheeler's Cavalry around our right flank in the 
direction of Kingston, with a view of getting in our rear and cut- 
ting off our communications. About noon our division started 
to march to Hough's Ferry, our brigade then consisting of the 
Second, Seventeenth and Twentieth Michigan Volunteers, and 
the One Hundredth Pennsylvania; the latter regiment, how- 
ever, being detached to convoy a supply train back to K^nox- 
ville. Before reaching Louden we met the column of Gen. 
Julius White, who, in command of a division of the Twenty- 
third Army Corps, had been holding Louden, in full retreat 
towards Knoxville. Gen. Burnside, who had arrived from 
Knoxville at about noon, and had taken personal command of 
the movement, directed Gen. White to face about and march 
back to Hough's Ferry. It had been raining and the roads 
were in bad condition. It was nearly dark when we climbed 
the wooded hills which rise above Hough's Ferry. Long- 
street's leading division was already across the river and 
occupied a small peninsula in a bend of the river, and at 
that point considerable skirmishing took place that night; 
but Longstreet was securely posted and held his foothold on 
the north bank. Before dawn of the 15th, by order from 



Gen. Burnside, we su(l(lcnl\- witlidrew from our jjosition at 
Hough's Ferry and began falling back again toward Lenoir. 
It was reported that during the night he had received orders 
from Gen. Grant at Chattanooga to fall back to Knoxville. By 
the middle of the afternoon we had once more reached Lenoir 
Station, and our entire force was posted in a semi-circular 
arc around that station as a center. During the afternoon 
the enemy made his appearance upon the Kingston road and 
considerable skirmishing ensued. We lay upon our arms 
that night without food or fire. The men were forbidden to 
remove their knapsacks or to lie down to sleep, and as a cold, 
heavy fog settled over our lines towards morning, we shivered 
through the night. Towards three o'clock of the morning of 
the i6th, we silently withdrew our lines, excepting the pickets, 
in the direction of Knoxville. The roads were so bad that the 
teams had been removed from (juite a number of the supply 
wagons in order to move the artillery, and it became necessary 
to destroy a small train loaded with rations and ammunition 
and officers' baggage, in order to prevent their falling into 
the hands of the enemy. The gray of morning was beginning 
to break when our second brigade of Ferrero's division took 
the road in the direction of Campbell's Station. The mud 
was deep and more wagons had to be abandoned. The men 
were tired, sleepy, hungry, and well-nigh worn out. 

The Confederates were not long in discovering our with- 
drawal, and we were not more than a mile on the road when 
they were in motion pressing in pursuit. Our little brigade 
was the rear guard of the Army of the Ohio with orders to hold 
the enemy in check and gain as much time as possiljle for the 
main body of our troops to get into position at Campbell's 
Station. Gen. Burnside was personally present and in com- 
mand. The Seventeenth Michigan Infantry was the rear 



guard of the brigade and was the first to come into conflict 
with the enemy. The first attack came about the middle of 
the forenoon in front of a small stream, a mile or mile and a 
half from Campbell's Station, called Turkey Creek. A sharp 
engagement here ensued, the Seventeenth Michigan suffering 
quite heavily. Just a little way back of the creek was a dwell- 
ing at which Gen. Ferrero and some of his staff had stopped 
to get a bite of breakfast. Just as the head of our regiment 
passed this house, Gen. Ferrero came out in haste and as he 
mounted, said to his staff, "Gentlemen, the ball has opened." 

Gen. Ferrero had formerly been a dancing master at West 
Point. 

Now followed one of the prettiest fights in retreat that it 
was ever my fortune to witness. Col. Humphrey command- 
ing the brigade withdrew his three regiments successively by 
the Echelon movement until we reached the line of a piece of 
woods that intervened between us and Campbell's Station. 
Here a more determined stand was made; the three little 
regiments, numbering less than 900 men, taking position 
behind a rail fence which bordered the woodland, the Twen- 
tieth in the center, the Second on the right, and the Seventeenth 
on the left. Up to this point my regiment, the Twentieth 
Michigan, had been commanded by Col. W. Huntington Smith, 
with great courage and coolness. As we took our position behind 
this rail fence, we were both mounted. Col. Smith upon a very 
large horse, and we sat in the ' saddle but a few feet in the 
rear of the firing line, directing and encouraging the men. 
It was here that Col. Smith fell, his brain pierced by a rebel 
bullet, dying instantly without a word or groan, and prob- 
ably never conscious of the fact that he was hit. Instantly the 
command of the regiment devolved upon me, which command 
I retained until temporarily retired by a wound at the battle 



8 



of Spottsylvania Court House, in May, 1864. Retreating 
slowly and in perfect order, the brigade passed back through 
the woods and came out at a |)oint in front of the Httle village 
of Campbell's Station. At this time another rebel division was 
attempting to force its way around our right by way of the 
Kingston road, which comes in at this point, and thus to inter- 
pose between our brigade and the remainder of our forces at 
Campbell's Station. They were met by our first brigade under 
General John F. Hartramft and held in check. Our entire di- 
vision now fell back in perfect order to a point a short distance 
in advance of the village, and behind the forks of the Kingston 
and Louden roads, where we remained until the middle of the 
afternoon. The Confederates now brought forward their 
artillerv and the action became general. Meanwhile our bri- 
gade, which had been engaged for about four hours, 
was retired to a sheltered position near the Station, having 
lost 150 out of about 750 men engaged. From this time on 
the engagement was mostly an artillery duel, although re- 
peated attempts were made to turn both our right and left 
flank but without success. It w.as near night when Gen. 
Burnside withdrew his infantry to the high ground north of 
Campbell's Station, which position he held until darkness put 
an end to the conflict. Then began a weary, exhausting and 
difficult night march to Knoxville, which we reached at day- 
break on November 17th, completly worn out. 

SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE. 

Just at the break of day of the 17th of November, 1863, the 
day following the fight at Campbell's Station, we reached the 
outskirts of Knoxville, and our brigade was conducted to the 
ridge to the southwest of the city, known as "White's Hill." 
upon which stood the unfinished star fort, afterward chris- 



tened and baptised as "Fort Sanders." We were told that 
we could lie down for an hour. I tied my horse to a post, 
stripped a board from a fence for a bed, and in two minutes 
was in a heavy sleep, and slept until awakened perhaps an 
hour and a half later. I found that the troops were being 
conducted to position by officers of the engineers, where 
lines of breastworks had been marked out. In the course of 
the morning, several hundred civilians were brought out from 
the citv under guard of soldiers and put to work with pick 
and shovel, digging entrenchments. All soldiers who could 
be furnished with any kind of tools were also put at work. 
It was almost marvellous to see how fast the entrenchments 
and batteries grew. Beginning at the river on the left, they 
followed the highest crests facing the enemy, and swept 
around the southwest, west and northwest sides of the ttAvn, 
until they once more reached the river above. Batteries 
were posted in the most advantageous positions, both on the 
outer and interior lines ; but Fort Sanders was the most prom- 
inent, as it was the most important work. The main road to 
Louden passed a few rods — perhaps 15 or 20 rc>ds — to the 
left of the fort, and between this road and the fort was sta- 
tioned the One Hundredth Pennsylvania, which was not with 
us at Campbell's Station. In the fort were posted Benjamin's 
battery "E" of 20-pound Parrott guns; Buckley's Rhode 
Island battery of brass Napoleon guns, and a part of Roemer's 
New York battery of small rifled steel guns. 

The Twentieth Michigan was posted partly within and partly 
outside the fort on the right, and then came the Seventeenth 
Michigan and the Second Michigan, strung along the trenches 
on our right. Here, on the evening of the 17th, Gen. Burn- 
side rode along the lines with Capt. O. M. Poe, his engineer, 
who had laid out the work, and inspected and approved our 



lO 



progress. Toward night the enemy began to make their 
appearance on tlie Louden road, and to move along the ridge 
about f of a mile away, toward our right. At that time we 
expected an immediate attack, but it did not come. General 
Sanders, with a origade of cavalry, was holding the Louden 
road, at the "Armstrong House," which occu{)ied a prominent 
rise of ground about a mile in front of Fort Sanders. This 
house was a large fine looking residence with a square brick 
tower, and was afterward made the headquarters of some 
Confederate General. Heavy skirmishing went on all the 
morning of the i8th, while the enemy deployed and got into 
position for carrying this hill. 

From our position in F'ort Sanders we were able to witness 
the whole scene at a distance. We saw the rebels advance 
from the woods, and saw them repeatedly repulsed; but at 
length about the middle of the afternoon the Confederate 
iiifantry made a determined charge, closing around the hill on 
which General Sanders was posted, and swept our cavalry back, 
Sanders being mortally wounded. It was a sorrowful sight 
to see our brave fellows forced back. This ended the fight- 
ing outside the lines of defense. We worked diligently and 
successfully in strengthening our lines, and putting in new 
batteries, until by the 20th we felt well prepared for an attack. 

After dark on the evening of the 20th of November, the 
Seventeenth Michigan made a sortie for the purpose of burn- 
ing a brick house on the Louden road, just below the hill on 
which Fort Sanders stood, and which had been occupied by 
the rebel sharpshooters. They went out without being dis- 
covered and succeeded in burning the house, but on their 
return the rebel artillery opened on them, and Lieut. Billingsly 
was killed and several men wounded. On the morning of the 
24th of November the Second Michigan made the most brilliant 



II 



sortie of the seige. By this time the Confederates had ex- 
tended their lines well around us, cutting off our communica- 
tions on the north side of the river, and now they showed a 
disposition to close in and tighten their grasp. On the morn- 
ing of the 24th we discovered that they had extended a rifie-pit 
from a piece of timber in our front, lying beyond the East 
Tennessee railroad track — which wound around the foot of 
the hill on which Fort Sanders stood — into an open field, 
a distance of about twenty or thirty rods. From that position 
their sharpshooters were able to pick off men moving inside 
our breastworks, and to command the embrasures of the fort* 
General Ferrero determined to dislodge them. He seems to 
have believed that it was only an advanced post. He directed 
Col. William Humphrey, commanding our brigade, to send 
one of his regiments and take the rifle-pit. He selected his 
own regiment, the Second Michigan. They were quicklv up 
in line behind the breastworks. They passed over the works 
directly on my right, in columns of fours, and, as Major By- 
ington who commanded, passed me, I asked: "What are you 
going to do?" He replied; "We are ordered to take that 
rifle-pit." I said: "I don't envy you the job." These were 
the last words 1 ever exchanged with him. The regiment 
numbered only about 160 muskets. He passed quickly 
down to the railroad cut at the foot of the hill, moved a little 
by the left flank and formed a line along the cut. Most of the 
regiment was in plain view from our breastwork. As soon as 
the formation was completed in a single two rank line, the 
word was given, and they went forward on the run. They 
seemed only a handful, and they began to fall rapidly, from 
a flank fire from the woods. But they went on gallantlv, 
Byington in front, until they reached the rifle-pit and went 
over it. But the pit was enfiladed and swept by the flank 



12 



tire, and they were comi)elle(l to get on tlie outside again. 
Some retreated to the railroad, some .vere captured; but ot 
the 1 60 who went in the charge, 83 were killed, wounded, or 
captured. Four officers were killed or mortally wounded 
and two more were seriously wounded. Byington died in tne 
hands of the enemy, it was the charge at Balaklava over 
again. 

" What though the soldiers kni'w some one had hlundered. 
Theirs not to reason wliy. 
Theirs not to make re])ly. 
Theirs but to do and die," 
Gallant two hundred. 

For the time being the regiment was practically wiped out 
and no one the better for it, for the rebels continued to hold 
the woods. 

The next day, the 25th, was "Thanksgiving Day." The 
forenoon was rather quiet, but in the afternoon there was a 
good deal of sharpshooting. In the latter part of the afternoon 
the Confederates, who had laid a bridge across the river l)elow 
the town, were attempting to carry a hill upon which we had 
placed some guns, on the south side of the river. Although 
it was perhaps a mile and a quarter or more distant from our 
fort, we could witness the whole movement distinctly, and 
watched it for a long time. I had retired within my little tent 
to write a letter, and Capt. W. I). Wiltsie of Co. H. was stand- 
ing beside my tent still watching the tight across the river, 
when a sharpshooter, a full half mile a way, picked him off. 
The bullet penertated his lung, and with a groan he dropped 
just beside m\- tent. I assisted in bearing him ofT and while 
doing so several more bullets whizzed ])eri!ously near to tis. 
He dicMl the second day after. I had known him Ijefore the 
war. lie was a graduate of the Law School of Michigan Uni- 



13 

versity, and when he enlisted was editing a small paper at 
Ypsilanti. He was an excellent soldier in every respect — 
one of the best in the regiment. 

The same evening Lt. Col. Comstock, of the Seventeenth 
Michigan, was picked off in the same manner. I assisted in 
carrying him from the field and never spoke with him again. 
He died the same night. 

During the 26th and 27th the enemy were posting bat- 
teries on the hills on the south side, moving troops to position 
and preparing generally for the assault which we now ex- 
pected every night. A part of each regiment slept on its 
arms ; the pickets were strengthened ; some buildings that 
afforded shelter to the enemy were burned, and cotton bales 
were placed upon the parapets of Fort Sanders, covered 
with green rawhides of animals slaughtered. 

THE ASSAULT ON FORT SANDERS. 

The rounded hill on which Fort Sandeis stood had once 
been covered with a growth of timber; here and there a large 
oak tree, interspersed with a pretty thick growth of small 
pines. This timber had all been chopped down. The smaller 
pines had been used for revetments and platforms for the 
fort, and the branches of the oaks had been cut off and sharp- 
ened at the small end, and the larger end set in the ground 
in a sort of a trench to form an abattis or Chevaux de frise. 

The fort which crowned this hill was planned as a "star 
fort" and was evidently designed by an educated military 
man. My impression is that it was commenced by the Con- 
federates. If completed it would have been a formidable 
work. The southeast point toward the river and the Louden 
road was well advanced. The southwest star or point was 
quite complete. The west side was well begun, and the north 



14 

and east entirely open. Some of tlic work was done after 
we took possession, especially on the east side, which com- 
manded a dee]) valley extending toward the Holstine river, 
in front of College Hill, as I remember. The breastwork on 
the south connected with the southwest corner of the fort 
and extended toward the river. ( )n the north, the breastwork 
connected with the northv/est angle of the fort and swung 
away to the northward, following the trend of the hill, toward 
the railroad station, and then back toward the river above. 
Just north of the fort were three small lunettes in which were 
placed a part of Roemer's Battery; 1 think they were six 
pounders. Two companies of my regiment were in the north- 
west angle of the fort, and the other eight companies extended 
to the right, between, in front of and to the right of Roemer's 
guns. The armament of the fort consisted of Benjamin's 
four 2o-pound Parrotts, on the south and west angle; four 
brass guns of the P'irst Rhode Island (Buckley's), on the east 
front, commandixig the valley back of the hill, and the three 
guns of Roemer's battery in the lunettes before mentioned, 
facing west. The garrison consisted chiefly of the Seventy- 
ninth New York, about loo to 125 men; four companies of the 
Twenty-ninth Massachusetts, about 80 men; four companies 
of the Second Michigan, about 60 men; and three companies 
of the Twentieth Michigan, about 80 men. This was the 
garrison at the time of the assault on the morning of Novem- 
ber 29, 1863, say about 320 to 340 men. 

As I have before said, we had been expecting and preparing 
for an assault since the affair of the 25th, and a part of the 
men slept on their arms every night, and all stood to arms 
before the break of day. On the night of the 28th of Novem- 
ber, certain ominous ])rei)arations attracted our attention, 
the movements of troops, the planting of batteries, etc. Our 



15 

pickets were strengthened and the right of the picket line put 
out beyond the railroad cut. Certain houses beyond the 
track which might afford cover for the enemy were prepared 
for burning, and one-half the men in the trenches ordered 
to be on the alert. I had not yet lain down when at about 1 1 
o'clock, I think, a sharp firing began all along our skirmish 
line in front of the fort, and quite a number of our pickets 
were taken prisoners. The firing lasted for some time on the 
right, and the buildings which had been prepared for burn- 
ing were fired, and lighted up the scene brilliantly. The rail- 
road round-house and some other railroad buildings took fire 
and burned also. A large building west of the railroad in 
front of the railroad buildings to our right, which had been 
occupied as an arsenal or ordnance depot by the Confederates, 
also burned, and the explosions of shells and cartridges 
sounded like quite a battle. The batteries on the south side 
of the river opened on us, and the shells fell all around us. 
By midnight matters had quieted down somewhat, and I sent 
out Lieutenants Clark S. Wortley, of Co. B. arid C. A. Louns- 
berry, of Co. I, with a new detail of pickets to restore the lines. 
They made their way down to the railroad, but found the Con- 
federates just on the other side. There was no more sleep 
that night in our lines, unless the men slept sitting with their 
guns between their knees. So the night wore away. My posi- 
tion was a little to the right of Roemer's guns, perhaps thirty 
to forty yards north of the fort, from which point there was an 
unobstructed view of the west front as far as the salient angle. 
A deep ditch surrounded this angle of the fort, and outside 
the ditch a telegraph wire had been run from stump to stump ^ 
about knee high, forming three concentric lines of wire, quite 
irregular in contour. The night was cold, with a little frost. 
A heavy, white fog hung over all the valleys and at times rose 



i6 



even to the fort; but m tlic valley of the river and the deeper 
hollows between tlie hills it lay like a sea of milk. Above 
it rose the fort, the college and the college hill batterv, and 
the highest points of the town. 

I was sitting behind the breastwork just as the morning 
was getting gray, but while objects were still indistinct, know- 
ing that the hour for the assault had come, when from down 
in the white fog away at the foot of the hill in front of the 
salient, came the most curious sound of firing that I ever heard, 
accompanied with more or less yelling. It was not the usual 
crack-crack-crack of the rifle, but, smothered in the fog, it 
was just a pip-pip-pip- pip, so slight that it hardly seeme4 
possible that it could be musketry firing at all. Everybody 
was now alert, and stood to the breastwork ; and every eye was 
turned in the direction of the firing and yelling. Presently 
out of the fog, which came up two-thirds the height of the 
hill, there came a line of battle, followed by a second and a 
third. They came on in column of battalions, battalion 
front, amis at trail, heads down, no yelling, no cheering; just 
a jullcu, heavy tread, and a low "hep-hep-hep," as they 
came on at double quick. 

Already the fort had opened with shrapnel and canister, 
but the moment this column showed itself out of the fog the 
musketry opened from the parapets of the fort- and from the 
breastworks right and left. My entire regiment was posted 
where they had an oblique flanking fire upon this column, 
almost without receiving a shot in return, and poured a steady 
and continuous fire in to front and flank of the attacking 
party. The ground was strewn thick with those who fell, 
but still the column came on with grim determination and 
unfaltering bravery. These were Longstreet's veterans, the 
flower of the Army of Northern Virginia, three picked brigades 



17 

of the same troops who, on the ever memorable 2d of July, 
1863, drove Sickles' Third Corps of the Army of the Potomac 
from the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg. 

They were the men who at Chickamauga, on the 20th of 
September, 1863, had crushed Rosecran's right, and forced it 
back into Chattanooga. 

They had not been accustomed to defeat or repulse. They 
had made their boasts that they would take breakfast in 
Knoxville. It was a fine sight to see them come on. They 
seemed to rise up out of the fog, and came on — a dirty gray 
mass of brute courage. There was no pausing or faltering, 
until they struck the telegraph wire — "the tangle" as we 
called it. The light was still dim and uncertain. I doubt if 
they saw the wire until they struck it. Then the first line 
went down in confusion. The next rank, pressing on close 
behind went down in like manner, and all orderly formation 
was lost. 

Meanwhile both our big guns and musketry were busy get- 
ting in their work, and covering the ground with the dead and 
dying. Through the crackle of the rifles and the thunder of the 
artillery, we could hear the shouts and curses of the officers, 
and the shrieks of the wounded. They rose up to stagger 
on for a few paces, and then go down again. Finally a few hun- 
dred of them leaped into the ditch that surrounded the salient. 
They never got out again. In vain they endeavored to scale 
the slippery parapet. One man reached the top, and in at- 
tempting to plant his flag, he fell dead to the bottom of the 
ditch. A disorganized crowd still remained outside the ditch, 
unable to get over and unwilling to retreat. At last all who 
were able, broke and ran back over the brow of the hill. 

During the attack, two companies of the Second Michigan 
had gone into the ditch on the left and made a number of 



prisoners. Capt. C. H. Modskin of the same regiment leaped 
upon the para})et and demanded the surrender of those in tlie 
ditch. They answered him witli yells and witli a volley. 
His clothes were pierced in three places but he was unharmed. 
Lieut. S. N. Benjamin, commanding the regular battery _ 
called an artilleryman to bring him "some of these 20-pound 
shells with 5-second fuse." They were brought. Benjamin^ 
taking a brand from the fire that was burning in the fort, 
stepped to the banquette, lighted the fuse of the shell and 
threw it over into "the ditch, where it exploded. At once 
there was a chorus of yells and screams, and cries of "we sur- 
render, we surrender." Benjamin was a Vermont Yankee, 
with a decided "down east " twang; " You surrender, do you? " 
said he. "Then come in here," and presently they came in, 
225 of them, directly past the muzzle of Benjamin's shotted 
20-pounder Parrott, and threw their arms in a pile just inside 
the embrasure. Lieut. Benj. H. Berry, of my regiment, aide to 
Col. Humphrey, stood there and received them, directed them 
where tothrowtheir arms, andaguardmarched them to therear. 
Thice rebel t attle flags, 700 stands of arms and 225 prisoners 
were among the trophies. In the midst of the attack I was di- 
rected by Col. Humphrey to send a company of the Twentieth 
Michigan into the salient, and instantly sent Company C, Capt. 
Geo. C. Barnes commanding, on the double quick, and they as- 
sisted in some of the severest fighting. Our loss in the regi- 
ment was 1 9 killed, wounded and missing, nearly oncrthird of 
the entire loss on our side. The sight from the front of the 
Twentieth was fearful. The ground was strewn thick with 
the dead and dying, and in the ditch they were piled one upon 
another. As soon as the flag of truce was raised, Gen. Ferrero 
directed me to take a detail and remove the dead and wounded 
and deliver them on the picket line to the Confederates. The 



J9 

ditch at the angle, was piled three deep with the dead and 
wounded. In some cases we removed the wounded from 
under the dead. We took them in army blankets, and carried 
them down to the picket line and turned them over to their 
friends. It was a sickening sight. Many of them were shot 
through the head. The Confederate loss, as ofiEicially re- 
ported, was 129 killed and 458 wounded. 

By the time the fighting was over, the fog was all dispelled, 
the sun had come up brilliantly; the last of the assaulting 
party had disappeared, and as we ran up the big garrison flag 
on the staff in the fort, it was greeted with loud and con- 
tinuous cheers all along the line. The battle was won and 
East Tennessee was sealed to the Union. 



